No, Those ‘Fuel Pills’ Going Viral on Social Media Claiming to Reduce Fuel Consumption Don’t Work

• In recent months videos on social media of South Africans promoting the use of so-called 'fuel pills' that claim to reduce consumption have gone viral
• The price of fuel shot up by R2.37 per litre on Wednesday 7 July and many South Africans are trying to find ways to deal with historic high prices
• Experts have weighed in on the matter of 'fuel pills' and confirmed their use should be avoided by motorists

The record-high fuel prices in South Africa have seen chancers trying to sell so-called 'fuel pills' that claim to reduce a car's fuel consumption once added to the fuel tank.

Several videos on social media show South Africans promoting the use of so-called 'fuel-saving pills', one of the videos on Tik Tok has close to 940 000 views. The woman in the video also claims the pill makes the engine work more optimally.

Read also

More means less for Zimbabweans battling hyperinflation

Many comments on the clip are from viewers enquiring where they can purchase the pill from.

The videos punting the pills are in response to South Africa experiencing its highest price of fuel in decades of over R25 per litre. The price for 93 Octane increased by R2.37, and 95 Octane by R2.57 per litre on Wednesday, July 7, according to GlobalPetrolPrices.com.

Does the 'fuel-saving pill' reduce fuel consumption and provide superior engine performance?

According to Masterdrive CEO Eugene Herbert, the pills can do more harm than good to a vehicle. He says:

"The pills contain a substance called naphthalene which can marginally reduce consumption and emissions in certain circumstances but which also cause a build-up of carbon deposits that later result in poor performance."

Read also

Fuel price hike floors man who used to fill up his car with R600, Saffas share new full tank costs

The high fuel price has made South Africans desperate to save money on transport costs and the use of social media to punt these 'fuel-saving pills' is a worrying concern.

According to Motorpress, Herbert says:

"If you do not know what your fuel pill contains, you are either being taken advantage of with what is the equivalent of a ‘sugar pill’ for cars or worse, you are adding potentially harmful substances to your vehicle."

Disclaimer: The potential of this pill isn't confirmed and we don't recommend using it.

‘Petrol attendants took pics of my fuel bill’ South African man spends R5 000 on petrol for his massive SUV

A few weeks ago a South African man filled up his SUV at the fuel station and the high cost even caught the petrol attendants off guard, Briefly News reports.

A photograph on social media showing a man's massive petrol bill has gone viral, with South Africans giving their two cents.

Read also

Zimbabwe set to begin drilling for oil and gas in August, 1st Batch of equipment finally arrives

The fuel price has increased dramatically over the past few months, but this man's fuel bill of R5 000 sent Mzansi over the edge. However, there is a good reason why it's so expensive.

South African Craig Gradidge posted his recent fuel bill on Twitter and Mzansi went beserk.

The man said petrol attendants took photographs as some of them had never witnessed such a high value of the fuel. Gradidge posted that he has a Toyota Land Cruiser SUV with dual fuel tanks and that he opted to drive until he had used close to all the fuel in them.

Source: Briefly News